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FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 powered catcher boats were introduced in Norway, allowing the large-scale exploitation of previously unobtainable whale species. After blue whales were depleted in most areas, fin whales became the focus of whaling operations and more than 700,000 fin whales were landed in the Southern Hemisphere alone between 1904 and 1979 (IWC 1995). As its legacy, whaling has reduced fin whales to a fraction of their historic population size and, as a result, makes it easier for other human activities to push fin whales closer to extinction. Otherwise, whaling currently does not threaten every fin whale population, although it may threaten specific populations. From 1904 to 1975, the International Whaling Commission estimates that 703,693 fin whales captured and killed in Antarctic whaling operations (IWC 1990). Whaling in the Southern Oceans originally targeted humpback whales, but by 1913, those whales had became rare so whalers shifted their focus to fin and blue whales (Mizroch et al. 1984b). From 1911 to 1924, whalers killed 2,000–5,000 fin whales each year. After the introduction of factory whaling ships in 1925, the number of whales killed each year increased substantially: from 1931 to 1972, whalers killer about 511,574 fin whales (Kawamura 1994). In 1937 alone, whalers are reported to have killed more than 28,000 fin whales. From 1953 to 1961, the number of fin whales killed each year averaged around 25,000. In 1962, whalers appeared to shift their focus to sei whale as fin whales became scarce. By 1974, whalers killed fewer than 1,000 fin whales. Recently released Soviet whaling records indicate a discrepancy between reported and actual fin whale catch numbers by whalers from the former USSR in southern waters between 1947 and 1980 (Zemsky et al. 1995). The former USSR previously reported 52,931 whales caught; however, the data that was released recently suggests that only 41,984 were killed. In the Antarctic Ocean, fin whales are hunted by Japanese whalers who have been allowed to kill up to 10 fin whales each year for the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons under an Antarctic Special Permit. The Japanese whalers plan to kill 50 fin whales per year starting in the 2007-2008 season and continuing for the next 12 years. Fin whales are also hunted in subsistence fisheries off West Greenland. In 2004, 5 males and 6 females were killed and landed; 2 other fin whales were struck and lost in the same year. In 2003 2 males and 4 females were landed and 2 other fin whales were struck and lost (IWC 2005). Between 2003 and 2007, the IWC set a catch limit of up to 19 fin whales in this subsistence fishery (IWC 2005), however, the IWC’s Scientific Committee recommended limiting the number of fin whale killed in this fishery to 1 to 4 individuals until accurate population estimates are produced. Despite anecdotal observations from fishermen which suggest that large whales swim through their nets rather than get caught in them (<strong>NMFS</strong> 2000), fin whales have been entangled by fishing gear off Newfoundland and Labrador in small numbers: a total of 14 fin whales are reported to have been captured in coastal fisheries in those two provinces between 1969 and 1990 (Lien 1994, Perkins and Beamish 1979). Of these 14 fin whales, 7 are known to have died as a result of that capture, although most of the animals that died were less than 15 meters in length (Lien 1994). Between 1999 and 2005, there were 10 confirmed reports of fin whales being entangled in fishing gear along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Cole et al. 2005, Nelson et al. 2007). Of these reports, Fin whales were injured in 1 of the entanglements and killed in 3 entanglements. These data suggest that, 96
FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 despite their size and strength, fin whales are likely to be entangled and, in some cases, killed by gear used in modern fisheries. Fin whales are also killed and injured in collisions with vessels more frequently than any other whale. Of 92 fin whales that stranded along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. between 1975 and 1996, 31 (33%) showed evidence of collisions with ships (Laist et al. 2001). Between 1999 and 2005, there were 15 reports of fin whales being struck by vessels along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Cole et al. 2005, Nelson et al. 2007). Of these reports, 13 were confirmed as ship strikes which were reported as having resulted in the death of 11 fin whales. Ship strikes were identified as a known or potential cause of death in 8 (20%) of 39 fin whales that stranded on the coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea between 1986 and 1997 (Laist et al. 2001). Throughout the Mediterranean Sea, 46 of the 287 fin whales that are recorded to have stranded between 1897 and 2001 were confirmed to died from injuries sustained by ship strikes (Panigada et al. 2006). Most of these fin whales (n = 43), were killed between 1972 and 2001 and the highest percentage (37 of 45 or ~82%) killed in the Ligurian Sea and adjacent waters, where the Pelagos Sanctuary for Marine Mammals was established. In addition to these ship strikes, there are numerous reports of fin whales being injured as result of ship strikes off the Atlantic coast of France and the United Kingdom (Jensen and Silber 2003). Status Fin whales were listed as endangered under the ESA in 1970. In 1976, the IWC protected fin whales from commercial whaling (Allen 1980). Fin whales are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (Baillie and Groombridge 1996). They are also protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna and the MMPA. Critical habitat has not been designated for fin whales. It is difficult to assess the current status of fin whales because (1) there is no general agreement on the size of the fin whale population prior to whaling and (2) estimates of the current size of the different fin whale populations vary widely (<strong>NMFS</strong> 2007). We may never know the size of the fin whale population prior to whaling. The most current estimate of the population size of fin whales in the Pacific Ocean is 85,200 (no coefficient of variance or confidence interval was provided) based on the history of catches and trends in catches per unit of effort (IWC 1979). Based on surveys conducted south of 30°S latitude between 1978 and 1988, fin whales in the Southern Ocean were estimated to number about 400,000 (IWC 1979; no coefficient of variance or confidence interval was provided). Chapman (1976) estimated the “original” population size of fin whales off Nova Scotia as 1,200 and 2,400 off Newfoundland, although he offered no explanation or reasoning to support that estimate. Sergeant (1977) suggested that between 30,000 and 50,000 fin whales once populated the North Atlantic Ocean based on assumptions about catch levels during the whaling period. Sigurjónsson (1995) estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 fin whales once populated the North Atlantic, although he provided no data or evidence to support that estimate. More recently, Palumbi and Roman (2006) estimated that about 360,000 fin whales (95% confidence interval = 249,000 - 481,000) populated the North Atlantic Ocean before whaling based on mutation rates and estimates of genetic diversity. 97
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